Nail clipper



March 31, 1953 J. w. HUNT ET AL r 2,632,947

NAIL CLIPPER Filed Dec. 2, 1950 INVENTOR. JOHN W HUNT WILLIAM ,4. Hum- 47 TORN'V e uipm n .d t l -e idfilen v. being carried in pocketspclothing, ladies handorf...tqi ailrs jwh q in use or? as handle"Patented Mar. 31, 1953 UNITED sm-"Es TIPKTENT OFFICE U NAIL CLIPPER:

I new; Hunt Pontiae, Mariana -William, A.Hunt, 'Chicagg,. 11.-

i u -cast; December 2, 1956, Serialhl iea'ssg T e new new" re ates. is"ma ic r F cula rly'to anirriprqved is well adapted for bags and thelike,]and which has a cutting mechaeither, left, orjiightl hf ease andfacili y-1 i. tis n bi c 9 v .videa imp ove 1 ith relatively great je jn,ifivgmion'w prortrirnming fingernails includes a casing that can beused. interchang ably either for enclosing therilttinfgniechanis whenthelatter is not nd supportingstructure for the ncnttingflmec anlsmhenthe latter is tq'hensedfor i nm sparrow I It; ie bt er ,obie t': 9inte ests? li n ien to proyi de a cutting'mechanism for a nail clipper,which cutting mechanism includes cutting jaws .swivelly mounted so thatthejaws can be turned in any desired direction with respect to theirsupporting structure thereby permitting the .user to actuate the jawswhen' the latter are in the most suitable'position to facilitatetrimming "the nails of eitherth leftjor right hand.

It is 'stillanotheriobject of the present invention to provide aniimprqleiifnail clipper as described inthe preceding object wherein a leverarm canbe used whenin one position for actuating the cuttingfiaWsand inanother position 30 as a nail file,' and further,,when the 'lever arm ais in the latterflposition, it can be selectivelyused .as a filjelor canbe inse ted int ithe cas n to be enclosed therein. l

It is still. another object oitthe present invention to provide. a nailclipper which can be constructed from relatively fewfland simple parts,thereby permitting production thereof at a rela- .tively low cost, andwhich is constructed and arranged-sothat a substantialportionthereof canbe fabricated. from. suitable plastics, lightweight metals or the like;while" effectingj afrugged' but lightweight construction other objectsof this .mverltl ii Twin ape in the following.description and appendedclaims, 'r'eference'being had to theaccompanyingdrawings forming a;part. of this jspecifieation wherein like reference charactersdesignatejcorresponding parts in theseveral'views.

iirig. l/is a side esteem; 1 viewer a.. nail" Tclipper withthecapscrewed to the casingto encIQ h cut ns ,i wst e t ini g i we? aham ni'sni permitting the userato trim the nails of 10 the line dfixofifiiig. 2:;

in Fig. 5: 12 .9.

s dam... with-12s) a rei erse position tothat of Fig. 1 so that thecuttir i'g gfaws 'are outsideithe casing, and the lever ar-inforiactuating theijawsiis" showirin its operative position as wellasiiintiphantomin its nor- 5 mal position when"e'nclosed in said casing}Fig. 3 isan enlarged exploded fragmentary iew partly' in section ofthecuttingmechanism of the iia'il clipperashowni in Fig. :2 F.

Fig-. i isa fragmentary ectional mew. takenhon Fig. dis afragmentaryiviewl showinggaq modifled form of the cuttin "mechanismiorythenail c rs; and Y F Fig.6 is a top view f thermodificationashownBefore expl ining; athe present invention in detail, it is toiberunderstood=..that the invention is not'flimit'ed inits applicationto'the' details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated inthe accompanying drawings; since theinvention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced orcarried out in various ways. Also,it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology'employedherein is' for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

A Reierring'to thedrawings, Fig. 1 shows an embodiment 'of" the" 'fiail'cli'pper'in' its closed position, in which position it normally will bewhen earned by tne 'user in his or her pocket or in a iaaies' -na ebag,or the like. As seenin Figxl, 'thenail clipper" i ficludes a"cylindricalcasing 1 l 0 having its One end' close'd and rounded as at 12. lheotherend I4 is open and is closed bya cap i nember' l-6. The latter canbe f'secured to: the ;casing it b ei rig retired .th'eretw or can be ftcried in all Ob sill'tlbl' mflnl Sdthat an ee easily nio'yed therefrom:The only ieqi-iii'ernen-t 6f the'eneans fdr attachingthe cap 0 hat'tiiere willbe no ag"inlto' the poclgetsor :This' featu1'e' of pro'v ida"also advantageous in thjat suchfa casing will ccupyent veiysmau space"wiiiie prp v iamg suificient rb'dm witliin for r housing: trie variousparts cr menaii-ielipper. Also, the cylindrical shape is atiirantagecsusm 3 relatively light materials, such as plastics or other metals, andthe tubular or cylindrical shape provides a relatively strongconstruction per unit of weight. If desired, however, the cross sectionof the casing It) may be square, rectangular, oval, or the like.

As can be seenin Figs. 2 and 3, a support bracket i8 extends outwardlyfrom one end of the capmember IS. The bracket it has a square opening 20formed therein through which a pin 22 extends whose cross sectionconforms to the shape of the opening 20. The pin 22 has an enlarged head24 at its upper end and at its lower end a slot 26 is cut into one sidethereof.

A pair of cutting jaws 28 made of spring steel, or the like, and havingcutting edges 34 for trimming toenails or fingernails, are providedwhich are adapted to be swivelly mounted on the pin 22. The cutting jaws28 have apertures 32 and 34 therein as can best be seen in Figs. 3 and4. As there shown, these apertures are circular in shape so that thejaws can move axially as well as rotatably on the pin 22.

The upper jaw of the cutting jaws 28 has a depressed portion 36 intowhich the enlarged head 24 of the pin 22 is received and the lower jawmember has a raised portion 38 for receiving the lug 40 on the supportbracket IS. The lug 40 has a serrate surface so as to frictionallyresist rotation of the cutting jaws 28. The pin 22 is retained in placeon the support bracket i8 by the lever arm 42 which has a rectangularaperture 44 at its one end. The end portion 46 of the lever arm 42 isplaced in the slot 26 which extends transversely in the pin 22, and whenit is desired to actuate the jaws 28, the lever arm 42 is pivoted aboutan axis co-extensive with said slot '26 to the position shown in solidlines in Fig. 2. The cutting jaws 28 are closed when the lever arm'42and the casing II! are moved together by a pinching action. As isbelieved understood, the lever arm 42 will then pivot about the fulcrumpoint IBA on the bracket i8. This causes the pin 22 to be partiallylowered through the aperture 20 in the support bracket 18 resulting inthe enlarged head 24 of the pin 22 forcing the upper jaw of the cuttingjaws 28 downwardly into engagement with the lower jaw. When pressure onthe lever arm 42 is released, the jaws will return to their normallyopen position by virtue of the resilient properties of the spring steelof which they are made.

vAs is believed readily understood from the above description, thecutting jaws 28 can be turned in any desired position with respect tothe support bracket 18 by virtue of the swivel mounting provided. Thelever arm 42 and the casing I will always retain their relative positionwith respect to one another by virtue of the mounting construction ofthe pin 22 and the lever arm 42, since neither the pin 22 or the leverarm 42 can be rotated about the axis of the pin 22.

The lever arm 42 functions not only to actuate the cutting jaws 28, butalso can be used as a nail file. The concave surface of the lever arm4-2 is cut in the conventional manner to provide a file 42A, and whenthe lever arm 42 is pivoted to the position shown in phantom in Fig. 2,it can be used for this purpose. The lever arm 42 is suitably curved at48 to provide the desired curvature for providing the optimum results infiling the nails. g

The position ofthe lever arm 42 shown in phantom in Fig 2 is the normalposition of the latter when housed within the casing 10, and it is alsothe normal position when being used to file or clean the nails. Theouter tip of the lever arm 42 is pointed in the conventional manner toprovide for cleaning fingernails and the like. In order to provide arelatively sturdy nail file for these latter purposes, a wedging deviceis provided so that the lever arm 42 will be held rather rigidly when inthe position shown in phantom in Fig. 2. This wedging action resultswhen the end portion 46 of the lever arm 42 is pivoted into the angularslot provided in the support bracket at 52, Fig. 3. As is believedreadily understood, when the lever arm 42 is pivoted to the positionshown in phantom in Fig. 2, the outer end portion 46 will be wedged intothe angular slot 52 to provide a rigid extension of support bracket l8.

A modified form of the invention is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Thismodification of the invention is substantially the same as that shown inFigs. 1-4 with the exception of the cutting jaws 54 which are pivotallyconnected as at 5B, and the coil spring 53 which serves to bias thecutting jaws 54 apart. In all other respects, this nail clipper is thesame as that shown in Figs. 14.

From the above description, it is believed to be readily clear that thepresent invention provides a nail clipper which has no sharp edges orsnags when it is carried in the closed position shown in Fig. 1.Further, it has swivelly mounted cutting jaws so that the user thereofcan turn the jaws to the position which enables him to trim thefingernails or toenails with the greatest ease and facility. Also arather simple mechanism has been provided for actuating the jaws so thata firm and positive grip can always be had when actuating said jaws, andfurther, this actuating mechanism can be enclosed within the casing ofthe nail clipper merely by being pivoted to a position forming anextension of the supporting structure. In addition, this nail clippercan be constructed from relatively few and simple parts permittingproduction thereof at low cost and it can be made with a majority of theelements being made of plastics or the like.

Having thus described our invention, we claim: I i. In a nail clipper, asupport bracket, a pin mounted against rotation on said bracket, cuttingjaws mounted on said pin for swivel movement above said bracket, a leverarm pivotally connected to the lower end of said pin and in engageemntwith a fulcrum point on the lower side of said bracket, said pinextending through the bracket and each of said jaws and havinganenlarged head above the upper jaw whereby when said lever arm ispivoted about said fulcrum point the pin will be axially moved withrespect to said bracket to open or close said jaws.

2. In a nail clipper as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cutting jawscomprise a U-shaped spring steel member.

3. In a nai1 clipper as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cuttingjawscomprise a pair of oppositely disposed jaws pivotally connected togetherand a compression spring is positioned therebetween for biasing saidcutting jaws apart.

4. In a nail clipper, the combination of a support bracket having asubstantially rectangular aperture therein and a fulcrum point on itslower side, a pin extending upwardly through said aperture and axiallysl'idable therein, said piii being substantially rectangular in crosssection to prevent rotation in saidaperture, a pair of cutting jawspositioned on the upper side of saidbracket and having round holestherein through which said pin extends whereby the jaws may be swiveledon said bracket, the upper end of said pin having an enlarged head, thelower end of said pin having a transverse slot therein, and a lever armhaving its one end extending into said transverse slot and anotherportion in engagement with said fulcrum point for moving said pinaxially on pivotal movement of the lever arm about the fulcrum point sothat said jaws will be closed on lowering of said said pin with respectto said support bracket.

5. In a nail clipper, the combination as claimed in claim 4 wherein saidcutting jaws comprise a U-shaped spring steel member.

6. In a nail clipper, the combination as claimed in claim 4 wherein saidcutting jaws comprise a pair of opposite disposed jaws pivotallyconnected together, and a compression spring is positioned therebetweenfor biasing said cutting jaws apart.

7. In a manicuring device, the combination of a support bracket havingan aperture therein, a pin extending upwardly through said aperture andaxially slidable therein, a pair of cutting jaws positioned on the upperside of said bracket and having apertures therein through which said pinextends, the upper end of said pin having an enlarged head, the lowerend of said pin having a transverse slot in one side thereof, a fulcrumpoint on the lower side of said bracket and on the opposite side of saidpin from its slot, a lever arm having a transverse pivot member at itsone end in pivotal position in said slot for actuating said jaws whensaid arm is pivoted on the fulcrum and for forming an extension of saidbracket when said arm is pivoted to another position, and an angularslot formed in said bracket for receiving a portion of said transversepivot member in wedging relation when said arm is pivoted to the otherposition.

8. A nail clipper comprising a tubular memher, a reversible closuremember on one end of the tubular member carrying a support bracket, apin extending through said support bracket, cutting jaws mounted on saidpin, a lever arm pivotally connected to one end of said pin and inengagement with a fulcrum point on said bracket, said pin extendingthrough said jaws and having an enlarged portion at its other end sothat when said lever arm is pivoted in one direction about said fulcrumpoint the pin will be moved to open or close said jaws and when thelever is pivoted in an opposite direction to a position forming anextension of the bracket the cutting jaws, lever arm and pin can behoused within the tubular member.

JOHN W. HUNT. WILLIAM A. HUNT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 775,568 La, May Nov. 22, 19041,040,446 Smith Oct. 8, 1912 1,702,137 Schnefel Feb. 12, 1929 1,836,557Seymoure Dec. 15, 1931 1,841,291 Kern Jan. 12, 1932 2,460,522 MillerFeb. 1, 1949

